SELECTED WORKS 2013-2016

The Boat People

In taking Géricault's Raft of the Medusa as inspiration this piece explores the migrant crisis in the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, and particularly on the island of Lampedusa. The Boat People depicts the fragile human condition while in two different contexts. First, during the time at sea while exposed to its perils and the elements. Second, the disquiet caused by prolonged and indefinite stays in refugee centres. As well as tracing the major routes used by people in their endeavor to reach Europe.

This piece was part of the #SOMOSCREADORES 200 Top Expressions of Mexican Art. Initiative and Catalogue. Mexico.

drawn from the screen

We find ourselves surrounded by screens and this has driven our societies to produce-consume an inordinate amount of images. These images have taken a central position in our lives to the extent of reshaping our everyday actions and views of the world. These photographs are dual in nature given that either they were media or peer generated, yet regardless of their nature the tenor shared by both is document it all.

The core of this project's visual material was sourced on the net from news sites, blogs or social media. Subsequently the obtained material was transposed to an analogue medium such as painting, drawing or a combination of both. And in the process making its title Drawn from the Screen a clever play of words given that the material is sourced from the screen, while depicting it as one would do a live subject.

dsk

In 2011 Dominique Strauss-Kahn the then head of the IMF allegedly sexually assaulted a maid (Nafissatou Diallo) in his suite in the luxury Sofitel hotel in New York . What followed was an inevitable media circus that more often than not goes with this type of cases. I followed the case in the media, as experts scrutinised and analysed every aspect of it down right to ulterior political motives and the personalities of the two people involved.

The more I read about the case the more I wanted to make a piece that spoke about it yet I did not want for it to be partisan but as the case progressed Strauss-Kahn's reputation tarnished. The case eventually settled in a civil action and Diallo was paid a considerable confidential sum.

In addition to these charges Strauss-Kahn has been investigated in France for taking part in a high profile prostitution ring. It seems to me that he is not quite a transparent character and that is the reason behind my decision to depict him as a ghastly figure making the strangest of gestures (all the images were sourced from news sites). If the body is a reflection of personality, perversion and soul in a Dorian Gray sense then what is this man telling us about himself.